Volume 104, Issue 14

Holiday E�ents on Tuition Tax Credit Campus — page 2 problems — page 6

Rae Spoon Sex in Hotels ...

Brandon University’s Student Newspaper: scheduling time to breatheVisits since 1910 BU — page 3 Volume�ink 104, �ink. Issue 14 — — December page 7 3rd, 2013

Ty Moorman of the Bobcats about to attack in one of last weekend’s games. See page 5 for full details. Photo credit Milana Paddock/BU Athletics.

AGMs two weeks in a row: we’re all just trying to get stuff done

ment on behalf of those students. Ottawa (SFUO) was also present at the member locals to reaffi rm commitment to sP e n d e r VA n dy K e , th e fu l c r u M (u o f o) At the meeting’s closing plenary, the meeting. SFUO president Anne-Marie Roy the No Means No campaign against rape O More than 80 CFS budget report was presented and ap- said the motions on unpaid internships culture on campus was also passed. schools across the country sent represen- proved without amendments and an om- and the condemnation of the misuse of As the panel on countering rape cul- tativestta�a to Gatineau, (cup) Quebec — for the Cana- nibus bill including eight motions was car- funds by the Senate of Canada are ones ture took place inside the Palais de Con- dian Federation of Students’ (CFS) nation- ried. The University of Ottawa Graduate she feels are particularly important to grès, where the meeting was held, protes- Protest,al general meeting November 21st–24th to Students’ AssociationDebate (GSAÉD) put forth a students. She atsaid there is “very CFS limited tors assembled AGM outside. vote on policy and future campaigns. motion to look at the possibility of produc- information” on the exact number of un- Montreal students from McGill and The nation’s largest university stu- ing a short documentary on the commer- paid students on internships, but the CFS Concordia Universities and Dawson Col- dent organization collects mandatory fees cialization of campuses and research. estimates it is between 100,000 and lege gathered to decry the CFS’s refusal from student members with the ultimate “That motion took a bunch of amend- 300,000. to let them cut ties to the federation. Pro- goal of lobbying different levels of govern- ments,” Wolfe said. “The most signifi cant The Memorial University of Newfound- testors played famous pop songs, altering was the dollar amount we land Students’ Union presented a motion lyrics to refl ect the group’s anti-CFS na- had proposed and it was to endorse the Work is Work campaign to ture, and used a lobster trap to illustrate given up to the national encourage work equity. The motion was how student unions can get into the fed- executive to decide what passed within the omnibus bill. eration but can’t get out. the most appropriate Roy said the federal budget is also a “We are very unsatisfi ed with the amount would be for question of priority, and that “myth-bust- way that they operate,” said Melissa Kate something like that. It was ing” has become necessary to educate Wheeler, president of the Concordia Stu- also decided that it would students on where public funding is really dent Union and one of the leaders of the be done with an open-ac- being spent. protest. “We followed their own process to cess, creative-commons “The budget is about priorities,” she defederate and they don’t have a choice licensing so that it could said. “The government is spending bil- but to listen because we have a right to be used freely by people lions of dollars on oil exploitation, tar choose who to associate with.” who wanted to use it and sands, the military, so clearly there is a The protest follows a September an- change it.” lot of money at the federal level, it is just nouncement from students on at least The Student Federa- not being spent where the CFS assembly 15 post-secondary campuses across tion of the University of felt it should be directed.” A motion for Canada, which — continued on page 7

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 1 Forgotten how to move? Need to stop studying? Dodgeball TIME: 8:00 pm – 10:45 pm COST: BU Students: $26.25 per term IntramuralsDAYS: Mon–Wed, Sep 9th–Dec 11Scheduleth LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym TIME: 6:00 pm COST: BU Students: Free Judo Club editorialstaff LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym DAYS: Mon/Wed, Sep 9th–Dec 11th Editor in Chief | Emily Diehl COST: BU Students: Free Ultimate TIME: 6:00 pm set up; Classes start at 6:30 th th [email protected] DAYS: Thursdays, Sep 12 –Dec 12 pm (Youth); 7:30 pm (Adult) Assistant Editor in Chief | Floor Hockey TIME: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm LOCATION: HLC Mezzanine Alex Murray DAYS: Tues/Sun, Sep 11th–Dec 11th LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym COST: Adults: $65 per term [email protected] TIME: Sun 12:00 pm; Tues 7:00 pm COST: BU Students: Free General Manager | LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym Soccer Club Elinor Murray th th [email protected] COST: BU Students: $10.50 per term Capoeira DAYS: Thurs/Fri/Sun, Sep 12 –Dec 8 th th Senior Reporters | DAYS: Fridays, Sep 13 –Dec 20 TIME: Thurs 4:00 pm–6:00 pm; Fri 3:30 Carissa Taylor, Katie Driedger Basketball TIME: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm pm–5:00 pm; Sun 9:00 am–12:00 pm Miss Q | DAYS: Mondays, Sep 9th–Dec 9th LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym [email protected] TIME: 8:00 pm – 10:45 pm COST: $4.00 drop-in rate COST: BU Students: Free Classifieds | LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym [email protected] Advertising | COST: BU Students: $10.50 per term Archery Club Table Tennis Club th th [email protected] DAYS: Tues/Sun, Sep 15 –Dec 10 DAYS: Tues/Wed/Thurs/Sat/Sun, contributingstaff Volleyball TIME: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Sep 9th–Dec 11th DAYS: Wed/Fri, Sep 11th–Dec 11th LOCATION: HLC Mezzanine TIME: Tues 5:00 pm, Wed 4:00 pm, Thurs & Dakota Bicklmeier, Roland Liwanag, Shel- TIME: Wed 7:00 pm; Fri 5:00 pm COST: BU Students: $10.50 per term Sat 3:00 pm, Sun 7:00 pm by Steele, Spencer Van Dyke (The Fulcrum), LOCATION: Henry Champ Gym LOCATION: HLC Mezzanine Anqi Shen (CUP Ontario) COST: BU Students: $10.50 per term Fencing Club COST: BU Students: Free DAYS: Tues/Thurs, Sep 10th–Dec 19th Badminton TIME: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm *$4.00 drop-in rate for non-students. DAYS: Fridays, Sep 13th–Dec 6th LOCATION: HLC Mezzanine

The Quill is published weekly by The Quill, Inc., and is printed by The Kil- larney Guide in Killarney, MB. Just in case you didn’t know people, and the Liberals gained something can be attributed to several things, though NOTE: Editorials, letters, and view- Al e x Mu r r a y , a s s i s t a n t e d i t o r -in-c h i e f in the order of 35%. it seems likely, given the national climate, point articles do not necessarily Brandon-Souris By-Election Results reflect the opinion of The Quill staff, L the Conservative The NDP might be a little disappointed that the Senate scandal caused the lion’s The Quill, Inc., or the faculty, staff, or Party of Canada won the Brandon/Souris in the final numbers as well. Cory Szcze- share. § administration of Brandon University. By-electionarry maguire last Monday of with less than four panski garnered a little better than 2000 hundred votes. It was a close match right people voting for him, 7.4% of the voter The Quill is a member of Canadian turnout in Brandon. The Greens had almost University Press (CUP), one of the until the end. There was a difference as 700 votes less than that with 1329 (4.9%). world’s largest student organiza- little as five votes in some stages of the tions, with a membership of over 70 election with the Conservatives eventually And finally, Frank Godon of the Libertarians student newspapers in Canada. winning by 391 votes (1.4%). came in with 267 votes, or 1%. Advertisers wishing to buy space in In a riding with an overwhelming repu- This change of heart in Brandon-Souris both this newspaper and other CUP- tation for being conservative, this was a affiliated newspapers should contact our multi-market ad representative: drastic turnaround. Compared with 2011, where the PC scored a 63% majority, the FREE Media Conservatives lost almost 20% of those 11629 105th Avenue Edmonton, AB T5H 0L9 Phone: 780-421-1000 [email protected] Holiday events here on campus! December 2nd For online advertising inquiries, SpiritSanta Photos Week at SUDS please contact: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm Rouge Media Group December 3rd 250 The Esplanade, The Keep Toronto, ON M5A 1J2 Santa Photos at SUDS Phone: 416-360-8120 11:00 am – 2:00 pm December 4th Local advertisers can also contact Cookie Decorating (Mingling Area) us directly at the address below: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm The Quill December 5th 270 18th Street Brandon University Wishlist Writing (Mingling Area) Brandon, MB R7A 6A9 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Office: 204-727-9667 December 6th Fax: 204-571-0029 Ugly Festive Sweater Party at SUDS December 9th Trivia Night at SUDS 8:00 pm December 11th @quillbu The Quill Karaoke at SUDS 8:00 pm – midnight

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 2 Rae Spoon performs at the Gender Frontiers Speaker Series on November 22nd. Photo credit Carissa Taylor. can be attributed to several things, though Tips for keeping your computer virus-free it seems likely, given the national climate, Singer-songwriter discusses gender identity click a nasty link, or respond to spam, that the Senate scandal caused the lion’s sh e l b y st e e l e our language can be restrictive. Rae de- change your password immediately. This share. § cA r i s s A tA y l o r , s e n i o r r e P o r t e r Cryptolocker �irus on campus? Rae Spoon �isits BUscribed their transition to using the pro- R were informed will hopefully prevent hackers and viruses songwriter Rae noun “they”, a journey in and of itself. that the Cryptolocker computer virus had from receiving information. C ecently, students Another way to protect your device is Spoon paid a visit to Brandon University Growing up in a religious family, non- been identifi ed as present on the BU cam- by keeping your anti-virus programs up to onanadian Friday, November singer- 22nd as a part of the heteronormative relationships were never pus. The virus could have been on any date. This can be done simply by complet- Gender Frontiers Speaker Series. The discussed. Rae, however, was never sex- computer, cell phone, or tablet in the uni- ing the update that pops up on your com- event, presented by the Gender and Wom- ually attracted to men, and upon fi rst dis- versity –r or anything else that connects puter when you turn it on. en’s Studies Program and supported by covering women, identifi ed as a lesbian to the WiFi. Finding the device itself is the If you are concerned that you have a the Sexuality Education Resource Centre, woman. only way to track it down, at this point, and computer virus, and you do not have any the Brandon Film Festival, and the Bran- Later, after learning about transgen- that is unlikely to happen. anti-virus software, there are a variety don University Women’s Collective, incor- dered persons from others in the queer However, this is not the fi rst time of resources available. Many free scans porated live music, readings from Rae’s community, Rae decided to begin identify- that a virus has shown up at BU. Accord- work well, such as Bitdefender. There are book, and a showing of the documentary ing as a “he”. Rae found it diffi cult to en- ing to the Director of IT Services at BU, Al also cell phone apps that offer free mo- about their life, My Prairie Home. sure others used the pronoun, however, Dunthorne, this actually happens quite bile security, such as Avast. Just search on Rae’s music incorporates various as they had decided not to physically alter often. Now the question is: How can we Google to fi nd other anti-virus programs. sounds, from country to electronic, and their body to conform to social ideas of prevent this from happening again? Mr. The brands that you see in stores or their lyrics are charged with political mes- what gender should physically look like. Dunthorne helped us shed some light on are well known and trusted are the ones sages with a no-nonsense delivery. When Rae originally used the pronoun “they” the subject. that will work the most effectively: AVG, performing a sing-along written with a only within the queer community, as they Al explained that one of the easiest Avast, and Kaspersky are a handful of group of youth who formed a band called were unsure of how it would be accepted ways to prevent viruses and block hack- prominent brands. Al Dunthorne person- “Gay in the Grass”, Rae paused to talk outside this space. Rae now chooses not ers is to change your password quite of- ally recommends that all faculty and staff about the troubles of living in Alberta, a to identify with a gender-specifi c pronoun, ten. This includes your social media ac- have the Kaspersky suite installed on Uni- typically-Conservative province, rousing and tries not to judge others’ genders counts, bank accounts, and even your BU versity-based devices. laughter from the audience. based on the way their body looks. account. If you have a problem with a virus, Rae also read from their book First Discussions about gender and sexu- In addition to changing your pass- you can go to the help desk in the library Spring Grass Fire which is a coming-of-age ality are rare outside of the classroom in word, also keep each password different. for some advice, or you can visit Al, who story of a queer youth in Alberta. Follow- Brandon, and this event brought in both When creating a password, try to make it is also in the library, on the second fl oor ing the music and readings, a documen- members of the BU campus and others fairly long, and use some upper case let- and in the Administrative Offi ces. For even tary, My Prairie Home, based on Rae’s within the local community. Rae Spoon’s ters and numbers for good measure. Us- more information on viruses go to this BU life, was shown. presentation was entertaining and infor- ing these criteria will make it harder for webpage: http://www.brandonu.ca/help- Rae Spoon has made the decision to mative. The Gender and Women’s Stud- someone to hack into your accounts. desk/virus-removal-prevention/. § use the pronoun “they” rather than “him” ies Program should be commended for When dealing with e-mail, only open, or “her”. For those who fall somewhere in bringing in such an interesting speaker. § click on links, and respond if you know the middle of the gender spectrum, like and trust the source of the email. If you Rae, the traditional gender binaries in accidentally open an untrusted e-mail,

3 — Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 Let’s take a look at the numbers, shall we? ship of Justin Trudeau. Although the NDP citizens and the popula- KA t i e dr i e d g e r , s e n i o r r e P o r t e r By-Election Winnersis currently and the Losers offi cial opposition, many tion in general. There was Y Larry Maguire people believe the Liberals are the party also doubtfulness over won the election, and he is now the Mem- that will bring change to Ottawa. Trudeau the accuracy of the last beres, of Parliament conser�ati�e for Brandon-Souris. It’s has spoken about how Liberal Members poll on November 24th, worth noting, though, that there were oth- of Parliament would be given the oppor- the day before the by- er winners and losers that night as well. tunity to speak as individual representa- election. Complaints in- The Liberals were also big winners. tives should the Liberals form a majority cluded being called mul- One might observe the Conservative win government. tiple times for the same as a 29-point loss for the Liberals, due Interestingly, one clear loser of the poll, a reduced amount to the difference between the result and by-election was Forum Research. The To- of rural residents polled, their projected support courtesy of Forum ronto-based research company conducted and a reliance on land- Research’s by-election polls. However, the fi ve polls during the six and a half week line phone users versus Liberals made enormous gains on their period from October 17th to November cellular phone users. previous electoral results. After securing 24th, with each poll forecasting a growing Frank Godon stated only 5.7 percent of the votes in the 2011 support for Dinsdale, who would go on to on Twitter that Forum Re- federal election, Liberal candidate Rolf lose to Maguire by a mere 391 votes. search called his house Dinsdale only narrowly lost to Maguire, by President of Forum Research Lorne three times on November a margin of 44.2 to 42.8 percent. Bozinoff went as far as to declare in a 24th and he responded The Liberals made gains across all statement released on Forum Research’s each time by selecting four electoral ridings in this by-election. website, “It’s looking like a Liberal land- the ‘other’ option, yet the The rise in Liberal support was evident in slide in Brandon-Souris, which would have polling results showed Southeastern Manitoba riding Provench- the devil learning how to skate.” zero responses for the The polls showed an upward trend in ‘other’ party. Likewise, er, where their support increased from Court of Canada found, in a case in 1998, support for Dinsdale, increasing from 39 Deveryn Ross, a political columnist for the 6.71 percent in 2011 to 29.9 percent. In that polls are not detrimental to electoral percent on the poll gathered on October Winnipeg Free Press, also stated on Twit- Liberal strongholds Bourassa (Que.) and results and indeed assist in the political 17th and 18th to 59 percent on the fi nal poll ter that he had been called six times by Toronto Centre (Ont.), Grit support rose education of civilians, with responsibility gathered on November 24th. In contrast, Forum Research. from 40.91 and 41.01 percent in 2011 to placed on the media to look into possible the polls showed relatively steady support The many issues surrounding Fo- 48.2 and 48.4 percent respectively. errors and inaccuracies. The Supreme for Maguire, as he collected an average rum’s polls have raised questions regard- The Conservatives maintained their Court also found that banning polls would of 35.5 percent support before curtailing ing the legality and morality of polls lead- two Manitoba ridings, but saw declining be against freedoms of speech, expres- to 30 percent on the November 24th poll. ing up to elections. However, the Supreme proportions of votes in all four by-election sion, and the press. § ridings. The largest decline in Tory sup- NDP candidate Cory Szczepanski and port was in Brandon-Souris, with a nearly Green Party candidate David Neufeld 20 percent decline in votes from 2011 both saw signifi cant declines in their poll- to 2013. Electoral support for the Tories ing numbers from 12 percent support in Provencher declined from 70.60 per- each to 6 percent and 5 percent, respec- cent in 2011 to 58.1 percent. Bourassa tively. Support for the ‘Other’ candidate, saw falling support for the Conservatives or in Brandon-Souris’s case, Libertarian in this by-election, with a decline of 8.82 candidate Frank Godon, dropped to 0 percent in 2011 to 4.5 percent in 2013. percent on November 24th from a previ- Tory support fell by over half in Toronto ous high of 6 percent on November 5th. Centre, receiving 9.0 percent in 2013 af- “It’s true in Brandon we were off by ter obtaining 22.64 percent in 2011. a little bit,” Bozinoff admitted in an inter- The decline in Tory support could view with CTV. He also commented that, be attributed to many issues, including “Maybe the huge lead for the Liberals believed ineffi ciencies with the current did scare the Tories.” Conservative federal government, the on- The high levels of support for Din- going Senate scandal, and the ineffective- sdale in the Forum polls may very well ness of Members of Parliament to make have infl uenced voters and the outcome an impact, both locally and federally. In of the by-election. The poll numbers may Brandon-Souris, we might also blame the have worried Conservative voters and controversy surrounding the Tory candi- others in opposition of the Liberal Party, dates, two having had their applications who may have been motivated to vote denied, as well as Maguire’s failure to at- for Maguire. The poll numbers may have tend two of the four electoral forums, and also infl uenced Liberal supporters to repeated negative ad campaigns. stay home on November 25th, as it may Support for both the NDP and the have seemed like a done deal. Voters Green Party decreased across the board, that may have been leaning towards the with the exception of a 6.69 percent gain Liberal Party may have voted for Szcze- in NDP support in Toronto Centre. In Mani- panski, Neufeld, or Godon because they toba, the NDP’s drop in support may have thought that the Liberals had all but se- been caused by the unpopularity of the cured the by-election. provincial NDP government. Forum’s polling process was not The Liberals have obtained the status without skepticism, including qualms of the impending alternative to the Conser- about its legitimacy based on the aver- vatives, fronted by the fresh-faced leader- age age of the individuals polled in cor- relation with the average age of voting Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 4 Mount Royal Cougars thoroughly trounced put in Ro l a n d Li w a n a g Bobcats in Action 10 kills, L 7 digs wice, but four times last weekend, No- and 2 ightning struck not once, not vember 22nd and 23rd, as the men’s and blocks. twomen’s Bobcats Volleyball teams routed M a r y the Mount Royal Cougars all in straight Thom- sets at the Brandon University Healthy s o n Living Centre. w a s The Bobcat women’s division still hot trounced their opponents for an impres- with 38 sive 3-0 win in both of their matches. assists The Mount Royal Cougar women’s team w h i l e yielded to the Bobcats Friday, November Vaovai 22nd, with a 25-19, 25-9 and 25-23 shel- A i o n o lacking. a n d Bobcat setter Mary Thomson had 36 A l e x i s assists in her first outing as a starter. The Loe- Cougars’ defence was non-existent as w e n they could not muster a single block in 92 b o t h of the total attacks of Cats. deliv- Victoria Dakin led the Bobcats with e r e d Photo credit Milana Paddock/BU Athletics. 11 kills and 6 digs while the pair of Shan- 7 kills lee McLennan and Vaovai Aiono pulled in each. Do- win without ever dropping a set. match-high 14 kills, 3 digs and 4 blocks 9 kills each. Meanwhile, Meaghan Rob- nata Huebert’s efforts added 12 digs. Carolyn O’Dwyer rolled in 7 kills and while his teammate Jordan Parkin logged ertson also added 7 kills and 4 blocks. All night long, the Cougars had 14 digs for the Cougars. Fellow Cougars in 8 kills and 5 digs. Another Cougar The Cougars were led by Carolyn no answer for the Cats’ 107 total attacks Julia Pasieka and Fallon Middlemiss had Tommy Lyon had 3 kills and 6 blocks. O’Dwyer’s 11 kills, 7 digs and 2 service wherein 43 of those were successful. 6 kills and 5 kills, respectively. The following day, with 580 adoring aces while Julia Pasieka added 6 kills and The only time the Cougars were a threat The Bobcats have never lost a game fans on their side, the Bobcats replicated 5 digs. was during the first set when they were at home and are now 8-2 for the season. their feat, quelling every Cougar uprising In their second meeting, the Brandon breathing at the Bobcats’ necks 20-18, The Bobcats next assignment will be the to finish the latter three sets to none (25- Bobcats completed their domination of with Brandon in the lead. However, a kill Saskatchewan Huskies before the games 22, 25-22, 25-21). the Mount Royal Cougars 3-0 (25-20, 25- by Shanlee McLennan put the first set come to a halt for the holiday season. The Cats were accurate with their 18, 25-19). safely away, 25-20. The Cats were never The men didn’t let the women have swipes all night as the Cougars could not Fourth-year Victoria Dakin zoomed to in harm’s way during the second and third all the fun, though: on opening night, No- provide enough resistance to the Bob- nd a double-double with 11 kills, 10 digs and sets as a service ace by Mary Thomson vember 22 , the men’s team defeated cat onslaught. They only tallied 4 blocks 4 blocks. Moreover, Shanlee McLennan put the game in the freezer for the second the Cougars 3-0 (25-21, 30-28, 25-13) against a total of 81 attacks by the Cats. in front of 713 people in attendance. In the first set of that second game, The Cougars were in a good position the Bobcats broke away from a 17-17 tie protecting a huge lead early in the first game to finish the set 25-22 from a ser- set, but the Bobcats suddenly rained vice error by Colton deMan. In the sec- on the Cougars’ parade and finished ond set, the game was tied again at 21-all the set with an emphatic kill by Ty before the Cats pulled away and a kill by Moorman. Boutwell on another David Stasica assist The second set saw a 22-all tie ended the set again, 25-22. On the third game, but a kill from BU’s Brendan and final set, the Cats were only a point White and an attack error by Mount ahead 20-19 when a Roy Ching kill and a Royal’s Colton deMan sealed the sec- Ty Moorman service ace upped the lead. ond set 30-28 for the Cats. Sam Tuivai put the final nail in their op- The home team did not leave the ponent’s coffin at 25-21. third set to chance as they led most of In that encounter, Sam Tuivai record- the time and was beyond reach at 24- ed 16 kills and 6 digs for Brandon. Dan 11 with the Bobcats’ Dan Boutwell’s Boutwell had 8 kills for a 0.889 attack kill ending the Cougars’ agony with a efficiency while Roy Ching added 8 kills, perfect assist by David Stasica to fin- 9 digs and 3 block assists for the Bobcat ish the final set 25-13. win. Ty Moorman finished with 8 blocks The Bobcats had all their cylinders and 3 kills. running as they made 13 assists and Two Cougars landed in double-digit 9 digs more than the hapless Cougars, figures. Colton deMan was their main with David Stasica putting up a match- man with 14 kills, 2 service aces and 5 high 31 assists and 8 digs. The Cou- digs. Jordan Parkin pitched in 13 kills, 1 gars complicated the matter with 11 service ace, 6 digs and 2 blocks. Jordan service errors. Or and Josh Kirkham both added 5 digs Sam Tuivai led the Bobcats with each. 13 kills, while Dan Boutwell and Bren- The Bobcats now boast a record of dan White contributed 8 kills and 3 6 wins against 4 losses. Their next op- digs each. ponent will be the University of Saskatch- Cougars’ Colton deMan had a ewan Huskies. §

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 4 5 — Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 Tax credits targeting wealthy, not low-income, students In 2012, students An q i Sh e n , CUP On t a r i o b u r e a u c h i e f Tuition Tax Credit withProblems family incomes below Every year, Cana- $30,000 used only 7 per cent H of education credits trans- dian postsecondary students are eligible ferred to parents in 2012, for amiltontuition, education (cup) —and textbook credits but made up about half of tax that cost billions of dollars in funding. But, filers. as it turns out, students from low-income Households with an in- households are least likely to benefit from come above $80,000 used the credits during school despite needing about 42 per cent of educa- the money the most. tion credits transferred to A recent study, conducted through the parents but made up just 10 C.D. Howe Institute, found that tax credits per cent of tax filers. are “disproportionately” transferred to Neill recommended that well-off families in a given tax year. Most simply making the credits students from lower-income households refundable would vastly im- can claim the non-refundable credits only prove the program. Students after they finish school and start earning not earning enough taxable enough taxable income. income would then get a Christine Neill, an associate professor cheque in the mail for what of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University they couldn’t claim on their in Waterloo, Ont., authored the study. She taxes, instead of having to found that the tax credit savings amount carry the credits forward. to about $2,000 per year for the average The same recommenda- Canadian undergraduate student. tion has been made in the “For youth from relatively high income past by the Canadian Alli- families, a couple thousand dollars per ance of Student Associations year may not change their decision to go to (CASA) and the Ontario Un- university or college, but it might change dergraduate Student Alliance those from low-income families. The prob- (OUSA). lem is, they tend to get the money later,” According to Neill’s study, Illustration by Ben Barrett-Forrest/The Silhouette. tuition, education and textbook tax cred- Neill said. its — more than the $0.7 billion it spent on the Canada Student Loan Program. undergraduate Tuition and education credits were students in Brit- first introduced in 1961, and the option to ish Columbia “carry forward” unclaimed amounts was save the least introduced in 1997. from the tax “Before the carry-forward was intro- credits, followed duced, kids from low income families may by students in never have been able to claim the credits Ontario and — after 1997, the program became more Newfoundland. expensive but it became better,” Neill Students in Al- said. berta save the In 2006, a textbook credit was added, most out of all raising questions from the academic com- the provinces, munity on the efficacy of the program. but by a small Whether to stimulate enrolment in margin. postsecondary education or to distribute A 2010 wealth to students from lower-income study found that families, the purpose of the tax credits college students hasn’t been clearly articulated. save a larger pro- Neill argues that the credits currently portion of their fail on both efficiency and equity prin- tuition from the ciples. She also made a point that the credits than uni- credits aren’t well-advertised on univer- versity students. sity and college web pages that display However, college tuition fee information. students end up “One major issue is that many people with a smaller don’t know about [the credits], and they dollar value don’t know before going through post- from the credits secondary education,” Neill said. “If you because their don’t know something exists, how would tuition is, on av- it affect your behaviour?” § erage, lower. Last year, the federal government spent $1.6 billion on

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 6 7 — Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 You’ll be hard-pressed to fi nd a better hook headline than that sity professor Jonathan Allan gave a talk scribing his current work as straying from pline. After all, where does one write a cA r i s s A tA y l o r , s e n i o r r e P o r t e r Sex in Hotels! entitled “Sex in Hotels”, discussing Matías traditional monogamy towards fl irting, book on the asshole?” To much laughter, about any ris- Bize’s fi lm En la cama (2005). Professor where “monogamy” involves working with- an audience member responded “admin- N Allan discussed how a one-night stand in out a single discipline, and where “fl irt- qué escapades I have had as of late. Let’s istrative studies”. a hotel room affected the two characters ing” incorporates an interdisciplinary ap- be o,real... i am hotels not are�riting much too expensive A thought-provoking presentation, Al- in the movie. Though the climax of the proach. Allan says that: “As scholars we for students. Most of us can’t afford ve- lan gave his audience what they wanted, story revolves around a sexual encoun- are taught to be monogamous to help the hicles: it is a good thing we have a $15 but left us all wanting more. His paper ter, the movie itself is incredibly normal, reader locate our work, to recognize with- per year U-Pass. …That was related to stu- is a work in progress, but would be well including nonsexual moments of tender- out diffi culty where our scholarship fi ts, dents being broke, not alternate places to worth developing into something more ness between the characters and a basic and to what the scholar can claim exper- get it on. I do not advocate for the improp- substantial – since, while size isn’t ev- plot. tise [. . .] I’m interested in fl irting with sev- er use of public transit. erything, we’d certainly like get into the Allan related the discussion of the eral disciplinary traditions to understand On Friday, November 29th, as part of depths of the subject … it might help us Bize fi lm to his own research work, de- something that might not fi t into a disci- the Arts Speaker Series, Brandon Univer- reach a greater sense of satisfaction. §

Well, now he’s in offi ce, but prior to that, he was hard to fi nd... ally because it was a certainty that he would Al e x Mu r r A y , A s s i s t A n t e d i t o r -in-c h i e f Where’s Larry? win. Every election in Brandon except one fronted by Lar- for the past 60 years has gone the Conser- ry Maguire, won the by-election. No shock vative way. Why bother trying with a record thereo: the in our conser�ati�es, Conservative bastion. The real like that? I probably wouldn’t. surprise was how close the election was. The The numbers at the beginning of this LiberalsS who were a few dozen votes ahead article do not lie, however: if this case is at one point, lost by less than 2%: 391 votes. being mirrored across the country, then the That’s right, in this seemingly-rare instance Conservatives might be in for a surprise in your vote actually mattered. So, if you are a the near future. No longer will they be able die hard liberal (I’m not) and did not vote, to rely on people voting strictly on party now would be the time to kick yourself. lines, and the issues facing the party will The proximity the two parties encoun- actually affect them. Although maybe it will tered during voting day might have been not be such a surprise, as this seems to be the scandals rocking Ottawa right now. Or, becoming a fairly standard pattern: a ma- it may have been the fact that Larry Magu- jor Canadian party gains power, holds it for ire did not actually show up to many of the a few years, and then abuses the power in debates around the area, including an event some way. Then, that party, torn by scandal, here at BU (a scheduling confl ict, we were is voted out of offi ce and we get another dif- informed). He preceded this by actually run- ferent (but somehow still the same) party in ning away from CBC news reporters when its place. Lather, rinse, repeat. they stopped to ask him questions a few So where is Larry now? He is probably weeks ago. Don’t let them see you sweat. on his way to Ottawa or celebrating some- And if they do, make sure it is because you where in Westman. But, he should be wary are beating a hasty advance to the rear. of what happened in Brandon. Next time, Despite the blunders, Mr. Maguire won. he may have to try even harder, for even Perhaps he treated the by-election so casu- fewer votes. §

Continued from front page stated they plan to start a petition to exit solidarity with and support for Aboriginal Debate,the federation. To leave Protest the CFS, members at groups.CFS “The AGM motions for indigenous soli- of that student union must collect a peti- darity, especially Elsipogtog, were really tion with signatures and present it to the important, especially for GSAÉD to be a CFS executive. Once the signatures are part of,” Wolfe said. ratifi ed, a date is set for the referendum to A proposal to add a queer student rep- take place. Brad Evoy, a delegate from the resentative to the CFS national executive ing to coordinate the meeting, chairing turned to the sender,” Roy said. “I think University of Toronto, walked alongside a was referred to the next general meeting. different segments and presentations, it is incredibly unfair to be putting that re- handful of other meeting attendees out- However, a motion to investigate the gen- and providing remarks on behalf of the sponsibility on Jessica McCormick. side the hotel to join the protesters. He eral structure of the executive passed. organization. In opening plenary, a mem- “We’re not here to pick battles with said after they left, CFS staff locked the “There was another motion to ask the ber local asked to have McCormick im- each other, we’re here to discuss student doors. national executive to investigate the con- peached because it was her responsibility issues. I don’t think we should be talk- SFUO’s Roy, a supporter of the CFS, stituency representative structure that we to ensure the executive received a mailed ing about impeaching somebody for mail said she “never really got an understand- have,” said Jessica McCormick, national petition from said union. McCormick problems that could happen to anybody.” ing as to why there was a protest. I know chairperson for the CFS. “We’re going to said she never received the petition. Af- The meeting also addressed the Que- they have some criticism toward the CFS, be doing that work to make sure the rep- ter much debate, the delegates decided bec Charter of Values, a potential boycott but we have democratic mechanisms in resentatives around the table are inclu- through a vote McCormick should not be of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the place to make changes if member locals sive of the different constituencies that impeached. presence of CFS executives while mem- collectively feel [...] there should be.” the federation represents.” “There are a number of reasons why ber locals hold a vote regarding the CFS Several motions were passed to show McCormick is responsible for help- a document or a package would be re- on their own campus. §

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 6 7 — Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 Quill Classifieds Need a new desk? Of course you do! Pick up a gently-used desk from The Quill offices We want you! for only $20 each! You move them, though. If you like to write, take pictures, or draw things, We might help if you smile. you should work for The Quill! Email us at [email protected]!

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Ask Miss Q Q:

Dear Miss Q,

I don’t really want to go home for Christmas. My family situation is really awkward and unsupportive for a lot of reasons, and I’m not sure how to survive this holiday season. Suggestions?

Sincerely, Lonely at Home

Dear Lonely,

I’m very sorry to hear that your family home is an unsupportive place. That really bites, doesn’t it? You have my sympa- thy, and I hope it gets better with time.

If you’re stuck in an unsupportive environ- ment, my suggestions would be to aim for positivity as much as possible in your own behaviour ... and find ways to be out of the house, if you can.

Finally, remember that your worth is not defined by what anyone says, or how anyone treats you.

Take care, Miss Q

Do you have a question for Miss Q? Email it to us at [email protected].

Volume 104, Issue 14 — December 3rd, 2013 — 8